All language subtitles for 100.Years.of.Warner.Bros.S01E04.WEB-DL.HBOGO.en

Storytelling...

that's how we make meaning

in our lives.

Even before we had movies

people told stories

over the campfire.

It's how we love each other
and grow as communities.

And I think Warner Bros.
has taken all the tools

and all the technology we have

and used that to tell those stories

that are essential to the fabric
of what it means to be a human.

Warner Bros. has been
transforming storytelling

for over 100 years.

Faced with the explosion
of unprecedented technology

new corporate landscapes

and revolutionary cultural change

the studio would lead the industry

into the digital age.

Visual effects experienced
a tremendous growth spurt

and we found ourselves
having opportunities

to do things
we just couldn't do before.

I will not be sidelined

sidetracked, or sidestepped.

I just don't think
there's anything more important

than people being able
to see their own stories.

It is the greatest sense
of validation.

Women will be silent no more!

We're gonna make
so many girls feel empowered

and feel capable

and dream big.

But through all of
the tectonic shifts of the times

runs a 100-year-old commitment

to visionary creators
and bold, authentic stories.

Now we are here
to tell a new perspective

and we have the power
and the knowledge to do so.

It's not about hiring filmmakers

and letting them do
what they want.

It's about
having a useful machine

to create something

that hopefully
the audience hasn't seen before.

And to continue
to educate, entertain

and enlighten us
for generations to come.

As a storyteller,
there is a responsibility

for the images,
for the stories that we tell.

Clearly, it meant something

to the founders of this studio.

And I love that
about Warner Bros.

And their mission
and what they set out to do.

To uplift humanity
through storytelling.

Damn it, I'm in.

- Five, four three, two, one!
- Five, four three, two, one!

When the ball dropped
on New Year's Eve 2000

the world welcomed the dawn
of a new millennium

and the birth of the digital age.

The rise of the Internet

unleashed a frenzy
of new business opportunities

sparking a gold rush of investments
in the dot-com space.

But of all the new digital giants
leading the Internet revolution

none was more dominant

than America Online.

You've got mail.

Determined to become the biggest
media empire in the world

and flush with cash

AOL set their sights on Time Warner

kicking off the biggest

corporate merger in history.

I don't think it's too much to say
this really is a historic moment

a time when we transform
the landscape

of media and communications.

As the deal was announced

Warner Bros. promoted
a slate of new leaders

who would have to navigate
the shifting media landscape.

One day, Bob Daly called me.

He said, "Are you sitting down?"

I said, "Well, Bob, I'm...

I'm laying down because

it's six o'clock in the morning."

He said, "Oh, I forgot.
I'm in New York."

So he said,
"Terry and I are stepping down.

And we would like Barry Meyer

to run Bob Daly's job as chairman.

And we'd like you to come in

and be Terry Semel.

Alan Horn began working
with Bob Daly and Terry Semel in 1996

after his company
Castle Rock Entertainment

was acquired by Time Warner.

Warner Bros. was preeminent, dominant

best in class.

So the notion of running the place
with Barry Meyer was very exciting.

I had been at the studio since 1971.

So I'd been there for...

you tell me what, 25 years.

Barry Meyer came to Warner Bros.
as a business affairs executive

and rose through the ranks
in the TV division

before stepping into the top job.

When I became CEO

I felt really, really well-groomed.

I felt that Bob and Terry
had done a great job

and it was important for us
to continue the legacy

and to keep this studio
at the forefront

of the motion picture community.

But it would be a tough road ahead
for Horn and Meyer.

Welcome.

With a new corporate parent

aimed at keeping Americans
at home and online

Warner Bros. felt compelled
to do the opposite.

Get people off of their couches
and into movie theaters.

When I came in, I said

"I want to do tentpole movies
with size and scale."

Because I felt those are the pictures

that will drive
the success of the company.

We need to give the audience member

a reason to sit down
and watch this on a big screen.

Horn's vision would be realized
through a children's book

by an unknown British writer.

It had not been published
in the United States yet.

It was barely
just published in the UK.

The first Harry Potter book
was found by David Heyman

who was a production executive
who worked for us in London.

The writing was so vivid

the characters,
so relatable

the world so richly
realized

imagined.

It was a story that I related to.

Who wouldn't want to go
to a magic school like Hogwarts?

A dark and complex coming of age saga

set at a magical
British boarding school

Warner Bros. saw its potential

to revolutionize family entertainment

and optioned
the still-unfinished series

from first-time author J.K. Rowling.

Then the books came out

and became a gigantic
worldwide bestseller.

- Three, two, one!
- Three, two, one!

All of a sudden, the decision
to make the Harry Potter film

was really, you know, a no-brainer.

The challenge, of course,
was presenting something

to an audience that's already in love

with the underlying
literary property.

If they don't like it,
they really don't like it.

There was a tremendous
amount of terror.

Because this was
the most popular book

in the world at the time

and if I screwed up,
I killed the franchise.

The director behind family classics
like Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire

Chris Columbus was chosen to direct

for his unique ability
to work with children.

But Columbus had never taken on
a fantasy franchise

of this magnitude before.

It was a frightening experience
in making the first film

because the first film
was setting the map

for every subsequent film
that was gonna follow.

So I was flown out to Scotland
to meet with J.K. Rowling

and she said,
"Tell me your vision for the film."

And I said the first one
has to be this inviting

almost storybook quality film

where Harry is invited
into the world of Hogwarts

and we fall in love with it.

But then in the second film,
it gets darker.

And by the time
we get to Prisoner of Azkaban

things get really dark
and really complex.

And I didn't know
what she was gonna say.

And she said, "Well, that's exactly
how I see the film."

One, two, three... action!

I remember the first film

was very much a case of, like

"How do we do any of this?"

Like working out how to do Hagrid

or working out how to do Quidditch.

We didn't know
how to do any of that stuff.

New technology
allowed Columbus and his team

to achieve never before seen
visual effects

that felt like true magic.

You're a wizard, Harry.

Even as a kid, you did have
a sense on Potter, of like

"Oh, I'm working
with the best people in the world.

Figuring out how to make
these things come to life."

I was completely amazed
by the scale of it

and by the visual effects

obviously, by the story

and I fell in love with it.

I find that there was a universe

that was very complex.

I remember Alan and I
flying to London

to see the first cut.

And when the movie was over

the two of us got up
and just hugged each other.

The first Harry Potter film opened
to critical and box office success

kickstarting a global franchise
that would transform the industry.

and captivate a generation.

People didn't just want to see
the movies and go home.

They wanted
to feel a part of these places

and it built these huge communities

around things that they all loved.

And that really showed that these
franchises are infinitely valuable.

With the potential for Harry Potter
only just beginning

it seemed Warner Bros.
had cracked the secret

to mega-franchise success.

But the studio's triumph
couldn't mask the turmoil unfolding

at the new AOL Time Warner.

We had different goals.

The thing with the AOL guys

is they always felt that

they just wanted to get the stock up

so they could cash out and move on.

Pump the revenue as best you can
at whatever the cost was.

That wasn't the way
we ran the company.

You had two very different cultures
trying to work together.

And it just didn't
make sense from the beginning.

And right around that same time

the dot-com bubble burst.

New warnings today
about falling corporate profits

sent the Dow down 292 points

the Nasdaq lost 109.

And suddenly, the value of AOL
wasn't necessarily what it once was.

A horrible, horrible deal.

Cost me a lot of money

and it cost everybody a lot of money.

It was a dark time.

And it's certainly been written

about ad nauseum.

It, you know, has been described

as the one of the worst business
deals in the history of business.

As Time Warner's stock plummeted

the pressure to keep
the sinking ship afloat

rested on the studio's shoulders.

And one division in particular.

Warner Bros. Television.

When I came to Warner Bros.

the single most important goal

was to bring in a whole new array

of what I considered to be the best

most talented, most compelling
producers in all of television.

Hire the right people

and get out of their way
and let them do their thing.

In his new role

Peter Roth would bet big

on creative mavericks

to push the boundaries of TV.

I was handed many scripts

most of which
I didn't particularly care for.

But I read this one script called
The West Wing, which I loved.

I pick up the phone

I call Aaron Sorkin.

I say, "Hey, Aaron,
I just want you to know

this script is extraordinary."

I do have to acknowledge
and admit to you, though

in the history
of broadcast television

there has never been a hit
set in Washington, D.C.

There was no reason that
anybody should have thought that

that show was gonna work.

There was
a tremendous amount of research

that NBC showed me

that people, literally

when you ask them do they wanna watch

a show about politics,
said, "Absolutely not."

But the fact that
it's never worked before

doesn't mean that it can't work now.

And executed as brilliantly as this?

Why not?

Take seven.

The rhythm of Aaron's writing
is very specific.

Not every actor can do it.

Is Josh on his way out?

- No. No.
- Is he?

I know he's your friend.

- He is.
- Did Caldwell say...

Billy, I'm not talking about this.

That...

When you try to cut it together,
then it's really cutty.

If you stand back from it,
it feels like you're in the theater.

And so Tommy Schlamme,
who directed the pilot

his solution to that
was let's move it.

Don't kill the messenger, Leo.

Oh, why the hell not, Bonnie?

- Five minutes?
- Please.

The movement itself
will help with the rhythm of it.

It became its own very specific thing
in Tommy's hands on West Wing.

You gotta work with these people.

And where the hell do you get off
strutting your...

- I know.
- Al Caldwell's a good man.

Al Caldwell wasn't there.

I'm saying, you take everyone
on the Christian right

dump 'em into one big pile,
and label them "stupid".

I literally leapt up as I saw that
first tracking shot and saying

"Oh, my God,
this is like out of Scorsese!"

It was so beautifully written,
so compelling.

Such an idealized version
of the White House

that we all desperately
needed to see.

There's a promise that I ask
everyone who works here to make

never doubt that a small group
of thoughtful and committed citizens

can change the world.

Do you know why?

It's the only thing that ever has.

We heard from many, many people
who went into public service

having watched The West Wing.

It brought something to television

that I think had not been
on television before.

I don't think it can be denied
that the one-hour drama

really elevated with shows
like The West Wing.

This idea of television

that could rival
what we see on the big screen

shows like The West Wing
were integral

in what we now consider
the heyday of peak TV.

You do not look
old enough to have a daughter.

And you do not look like a daughter.

That's possibly very sweet of you.

By the early 2000s

television was in the midst
of a creative renaissance

known as the Golden Age of TV.

My past is not your future.

Wow, you're cool.

With genre-defining
new hits from Warner Bros.

Your real parents
weren't exactly from around here.

All right, let's move it.

As the studio's most iconic
TV phenomenons

continued to rule the ratings...

We win!

...this period
of Warner Bros. Television

launched the careers of some
of the biggest stars of the era

including ER heartthrob
George Clooney.

With ER, it was a magical five years,
and then my contract was up

and I didn't wanna renew

'cause I was already doing movies

and I was making a pretty good living

and, you know,
every movie I did was...

the article would lead with, you know

"He's not gonna be a movie star."

There was a big stigma between
television and film at the time.

Clooney's rise to movie stardom
was not an overnight success.

even after taking on one of
the most prized roles in Hollywood.

Hi, Freeze. I'm Batman.

Batman and Robin was a big, big flop

and critically just murdered for it.

Suddenly because you were someone
who could green light a film

they were reviewing you
based on the film.

So you're getting killed for a movie
that you just thought

"Well, I just said yes
to an acting job."

And so I had to change
how I thought about it, going

"Well, if I'm gonna get blamed
for the film

then I better pick better films."

Come on, you bitch!

A Perfect Storm
was such a massive hit.

It had nothing to do with me.
It's a movie about a big wave.

But I said, "Since I took so much
shit for Batman and Robin

I'm gonna take
all the credit for this."

After becoming a bankable name

Clooney would utilize
his relationship with Warner Bros.

to redefine what a modern
movie star looks like.

It's never been done before.

It's gonna need planning.
A large crew.

Clooney form a production company
with director Steven Soderbergh

and the pair gambled
on a modern reimagining

of a Warner Bros. Rat Pack classic,
Ocean's Eleven.

Ocean's was a property that I didn't
think Steven would wanna do

because he was kind
of this independent auteur.

And he said, "I know how to do this.

We have to populate it
with big stars."

What, did you guys get
a group rate or something?

Hang on to your knickers.

The house always wins.

Unless when that perfect hand
comes along, you bet big...

and then you take the house.

Been practicing that speech,
haven't you?

Little bit. Did I rush?
It felt like I was.

No, it was good. I liked it.

Ocean's Eleven's success
at the box office

delivered a tentpole hit
for Warner Bros.

that would pay out for years to come.

But Clooney would take
his goodwill at the studio

and cash in
for something more personal.

We were trying to do
the "one for us, one for them."

And that was a fair deal, you know.

Clint always did that

which was
"I'll do a big commercial film

and let me do my little film."

We must not confuse dissent

with disloyalty.

We cannot defend freedom abroad

by deserting it at home.

Both behind
and in front of the camera

Clooney set out to build
on the studio's legacy

of socially conscious filmmaking.

Why am I being investigated, Fred?

Drop it.

These are movies that talk

about really serious issues.

And Warner Bros. was willing

to take big chances.

Relationships with people
like George Clooney

were critical to the studio.

If the relationship is good

these very talented people come back.

So it's helpful to have a project
that resonates with them.

They kill them, Michael.

Those small farms, the family farms.

Michael Clayton is a hard film
to even consider getting made.

That's not some easy film to swallow.

I was very angry
when I wrote that movie.

This case in the movie is based

on a real case that happened.

It's about the moment where people
decide to do the wrong thing.

And I have to say, Warners

you know, when we sat them down,
they said

"You know, you're gonna piss off
some people."

And we were like,
"What does that mean for you guys?"

And they were like,
"Who cares? Let's go."

I'm not the guy that you kill.
I'm the guy that you buy.

Are you so fucking blind
you don't even see what I am?

Truly, forever

I will have this place
in my heart for Warner Bros.

because of,
I felt that they were very brave

at times that were not easy
to be very brave.

Clooney's pursuit of meaningful
stories with Warner Bros.

culminated with the 2012 film Argo.

Originally, I was gonna play the part
and we were gonna do it.

And then Ben called up.

And Ben had just done couple of films
before that were really good.

And he said, "I wanna direct it."
And I was like, "Great."

And he goes,
"And I want to play the part."

I was like, "Fuck!"

I need you to help me
make a fake movie.

So you wanna come to Hollywood
and act like a big shot.

- Yeah.
- Without actually doing anything.

- No.
- You'll fit right in.

He took the script in a different
direction than we were.

Our version of Argo was funnier.

And he was like, "I think there's
more of a thriller in this as well."

Good, what's your job in the movie?

Producer, associate producer.

What was the last movie you produced?

- What's your middle name?
- Leon.

Shoot him. He's an American spy.

You really believe your little
story's gonna make a difference

when there's a gun to our heads?

I think my story is the only thing
between you and a gun to your head.

They are calling the operation.

I'm taking it through.

- You don't decide if it goes.
- One-way whorehouse mirror.

It is going.

And he did a beautiful job with that
and it won Best Picture.

To see good films on the big screen

the kind of films
that are not guaranteed to make it

it's very difficult.

And I don't wanna crap
on the tentpole films

'cause I enjoy them and I actually
think they're good for us.

But it can't be that at the expense
of the films that... that mark you.

And I'm hopeful that those
will still find their way.

Throughout the digital age

Warner Bros. was able to keep

a foot on both sides
of the filmmaking divide.

No one gives it to you.

You have to take it.

Releasing a balance of artistically
daring work to critical acclaim...

This is the time to build our nation.

Hiya, fellas.

And record smashing event films
with sequels that kept on giving.

The enemy is preparing for war.

But an ambitious new auteur
at the studio

had a vision for a film

that would transcend
the dichotomy altogether.

I felt an increasing separation
between serious drama

and the big blockbusters
that were using the CGI at the time.

I've always hated that divide
because I feel that as a filmmaker

you wanna try to blur
those boundaries

to create something

that hopefully the audience

hasn't seen before.

After taking the industry by storm

with his mind-bending feature,
Memento

Director Christopher Nolan
made a home at Warner Bros.

with the 2002 noir thriller,
Insomnia.

Did you try to impress me?

Because you about to die.

But the young auteur
was about to break new ground

with the studio's
most iconic vigilante

who was ripe for a reinvention.

They were at a point with Batman

where the previous iteration
of the franchise

had somewhat run out of steam

and they didn't really know
what they wanted to do with it.

When Tim Burton took on the character

he made this absolutely brilliant,
an extraordinary world

within which the character
was also extraordinary.

But what hadn't happened was
the sort of other version of it

where you allow Batman
to be this extraordinary figure

but you try and portray
a relatively realistic world.

And that was my pitch
to Warner Bros. is

let's look at giving everything

a grounded sense
in a cinematic world.

And I thought,
"This guy has a take on Batman."

Very, very smart.

I think his English accent helped.

That always gives you
10 degrees more intelligence

in the eyes of those listening.

But anyway

we had a great meeting with him,
and he was just so impressive.

So off we went.

Sold on Nolan's vision of bringing
Batman into the real world

Warner Bros. handed over the reins

to one of their most
prized properties.

and a budget bigger than anything
Nolan had taken on before.

With Batman Begins, the scary thing

was really the scale of it

and how we were gonna deliver

this incredible visuals.

Christopher always been attracted
to making films

that really make audiences feel like

they can touch what it is
that they're watching.

And doing everything that practically
as possible on this film

was really how he wanted
to achieve that.

I really try to get the scope
and scale and relatability

of any sort of action cinema

not just comic book cinema.

And so we did a lot with miniatures.

We shot on real locations.

We went around the world
with the films.

With this idea that Batman is,
in some sense, is not a superhero.

I like to joke that if he has
a superpower, it's great wealth.

So he's able to buy things
and put together all kinds of assets

that he can utilize
in his fight against crime.

So what do you think?

Does it come in black?

There's nothing magic
about the character.

And that makes him relatable.

We could, any of us,
in theory, be Batman.

What the hell are you?

I'm Batman.

Chris gave it a credibility
that made me feel

that this was not
a comic book character.

I felt that... He felt real to me.

Batman Begins reinvented
the superhero origin story.

But Nolan would push
his vision even further

with a genre-defying villain.

Once we've created that contemporary
more realistic world

we wanted to try and figure out

what might the Joker be in that?

Whatever doesn't kill you
simply makes you...

Stranger.

For everything you can say
about any superhero movie

that happened before this

none of them approached it

with the crime thriller approach

that Chris Nolan did.

It was one of the best film series
to ever happen

one of the best franchises
to ever happen

and obviously,
as one of the best superhero movies

to ever happen here at Warner Bros.

The Dark Knight became
the highest grossing film of 2008.

But its true legacy went beyond
just box office numbers.

The Dark Knight
had great cultural resonance

and it definitely felt like

we might actually get a best picture
nomination as superhero maybe

but it didn't happen.

And subsequently, the next year

The Academy move
to ten Best Picture nominees

and I've heard it coldly
Dark Knight rule.

Christopher Nolan ignited
what would become

a flourishing new movement
in large-scale filmmaking.

Why is it so important to dream?

In my dreams, we're still together.

We filmed a lot on the stages here.
Stage 16, in particular.

And that's the largest stage
in Hollywood

the tallest stage
that was famously lifted up

to give more ceiling height.

We shot at our Japanese castle set

where the windows are blown in
with water cannons.

Over the next decade at Warner Bros.

he would push the genre to bigger
and more personal heights

Redefining what
a blockbuster film could be.

Whether it be The Dark Knight

whether it be our chances
for interstellar travel

whatever it is,
he wants to bring that concept

into the most cinematic lighting
and framing possible

to tell a compelling story.

It's enormously important

that individual voices have been
nurtured through the studio system.

I felt very looked after.

And I really enjoyed
the feeling of the security

of an experienced studio around me.

A machine
that could be brought

to bear on my creative impulses.

It felt like
a tremendous privilege

to be working in that system.

While Warner Bros.
continued its storied history

working with some
of the biggest names in the business

there was one place on the lot
every celebrity wanted to be.

Seven, six

- five, four...
- There you go.

- three, two, one...
- Ready, A?

Roy, tech right up.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

With a rotating list
of Hollywood's biggest stars

Ellen ruled
the daytime scene

for almost 20 years.

You guys
are doing pretty good.

Yeah.

But before she was
on a first name basis

with all of America

Ellen's daytime dominance
seemed almost unthinkable.

A lot of people
didn't think

that it would work.

A lot of people thought

it's housewives at home
during the day

doing their ironing, you know

and... and, you know,
wearing their aprons

and they're not gonna watch
a lesbian during the day, and...

Of course, that made me
mad and upset

because they also didn't watch
a lesbian at night.

So I had no time.

There was no time
for lesbian on television.

Ellen DeGeneres
made television history in 1997

when she came out as gay
in her sitcom Ellen.

She revealed her secret
to her therapist on the show.

Played by Oprah Winfrey.

I didn't even give it
a second thought.

Ellen asked and I said yes.

It wasn't until after I did it

that I realized, "Oh, this was
a very... big deal."

We do not want the gay
and lesbian lifestyle

paraded in the living rooms

of America's homes.

This was the '90s,
and we hadn't really seen a show

with a lead who had been gay.

I was supposedly "untouchable"
and no one was hiring me.

A couple years later,
when it came time

for The Rosie O'Donnell Show
to go off the air

Warner Bros. needed a new marquee
talk show host.

For a mainstream daytime talk show

to feature a lesbian comedian
at its heart

was a huge risk
on the part of Warner Bros.

Once I agreed to do the show

Warner Bros. had a hard time
selling the show.

I remember the most common remark.

The station managers would say

"She doesn't even curse.
She's not even dirty."

I was like, "Fuckin' A."

I think there were a lot of people

who just didn't think
that would work.

Here she is now, Ellen DeGeneres!

And it couldn't have been more wrong.

Okay, so these are
my offices right here

on the Warner Bros. lot.
It's very exciting

'cause now there's all kinds
of things going on here.

I can do anything I want.

"G. Clooney."

Which of these two do you like?

That makes me wonder
what she's worried about

Or does my breath...
You know, when you do the...

- Yeah.
- Like that? Like that, yeah.

- So maybe you should
- Get me a mint.

You can't throw a stone
without hitting somebody in the face.

You just throw the stone...

- Oh, my God!
- Oh, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

- What the fuck was that?
- Sorry.

- What the fuck was that, Ellen?
- Sorry.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show,
19 seasons.

There was a long run there

for a reason.

The key, sort of

watchword for Ellen was "fun."

The fact that she started
every episode with the dancing.

It made you laugh.
It made you feel good.

It was the bright spot in your day.

Just spend
a little time with Ellen.

I'm grateful that I could make
a difference

and giving a face
and a voice to people

who are feeling alone

and not represented on television.

The secret to having
a great talk show

is the ability to be
100 percent fully yourself.

And that's what the audience
is looking for.

Ellen found a way
to be more and more real.

While Ellen was conquering daytime

a new genre
was taking over prime time.

Oh, my God!

Unscripted television.

In the early 2000s

Warner Bros. got in
on the ground floor

with a genre-defining dating series

The Bachelor.

What if we were to do a show

in which a guy is looking
to find the love of his life

and introduced to 25 gorgeous women

all of whom aspire to be his wife?

If you think about it,
it's Prince Charming come to light.

Let's welcome our new bachelor

A heartfelt twist
on the competition shows of the time

the 2002 premiere of The Bachelor

sparked the reality romance
phenomenon.

The show has just grown
and grown and grown.

Not just here in the United States

but literally around the world.

People want to see real people.

They're rooting for the love story.

The Bachelor kicked off
an unscripted studio division

That chased pop culture.

Yes!

And celebrated ordinary people.

A violin has strings
and a fiddle has strangs.

Boy, you my man!

I've been waiting a year and a half

to find out

about my great-grandparents.

Come on!

Oh, you want me to come too?

Oh, lord.

This is Harry Potter:

Hogwarts Tournament of Houses.

As television began overflowing
with new content

Warner Bros. doubled down on
a tried-and-true format.

The sitcom.

I thought,
"Who can I make a deal with

that can change the course
of our fare in comedy?"

And number one on my list
back in 1999 was Chuck Lorre.

We made a four-year deal,
the most expensive deal

in the history of television
of comedy creators.

It was terrible.

I had a four-year deal

and for three years

I just sucked eggs.

If I walked into the commissary

none of those executives
would look up

from their Cobb salad and look at me.

And then, literally,
in the last half year...

I got involved with a project
that became Two and a Half Men.

You reupholstered the couch

and I like it better the way it was.

Stained?

Hey, every one of those stains
had a story behind it.

A modern take on The Odd Couple

Two and a Half Men

co-starred Charlie Sheen
as a hard-partying playboy

with a taste for the double entendre.

Charlie to base camp.
I can see the summit.

But in 2007, Chuck Lorre
stumbled onto an idea

that would redefine
the culture of cool.

It began with Bill Prady

who, back in the '80s

when he was a computer programmer
in New York

and he told me about the guys
he worked with who were brilliant

but entirely dysfunctional.

Geniuses who could rattle off
pi to 80 places

but couldn't talk to women.

Just go mute.

And I remember going,
"Bill, that's our show."

"Those guys!"

You can start

sorting protons and neutrons

while I build carbon atoms.

The one thing we learned was

the audience viewed
the guys as children...

Bazinga.

...'cause they were very naive
and childlike.

Oh, no!

See, this is why I wanted
to have a costume meeting.

And they didn't want
anybody around them

who might be hostile
or didn't care for them.

So, Klingon Boggle?

It was a wonderful maternal quality
that Kaley brought to the role.

She was bemused by them,
occasionally perturbed by them

but always gentle with them.

This is really impressive.

I have a board.
If you like boards, this is my board.

I think the guys felt alienated
from the rest of the world.

The culture at large, perhaps.

And their solution
to that separateness

was they had each other.

They created a community
amongst themselves.

We went to Comic-Con that summer
and it was standing room only.

I could not stay away.

There were people crying
just to see these actors

like they were the Beatles.

And I went, "Oh, something's
happening on this show

that never could
have been anticipated."

The Big Bang Theory
mixed a lot of things

that were in the popular culture
at the moment.

The rise of Comic-Con

and fandom becoming much more
than just a niche

but something that was celebrated
in the popular culture

and in the mainstream.

That was front and center
in The Big Bang Theory

and they really embraced that.

Two and a Half Men
and The Big Bang Theory

cemented Chuck Lorre
as a formidable television auteur

at Warner Bros.,
who was just getting started.

Yes! That's it!

Mike And Molly to Mom

to Young Sheldon

to Bob Hearts Abishola...

- Tequila?
- Many shots.

And you paid for it.

Hit after hit after hit.

It's been one of the most
successful relationships

certainly of my career and, frankly,
of Warner Bros. Television.

As Chuck Lorre reigned
over a sitcom kingdom

a regime change
was underway in the C-suite.

After 12 years leading the studio

Barry Meyer
and Alan Horn stepped down.

Steering the studio's ship

through the digital age

Meyer and Horn oversaw
a flourishing period

of creative and financial boom
at Warner Bros.

They passed the torch
to a new leader in 2013

who planned to bring Warner Bros.

to the front lines

of the superhero studio wars.

Kevin Tsujihara really wanted
to expand the DC Universe.

And they wanted to expand it
as quickly as they could.

Because Marvel
had been doing multiple movies.

The new era of DC expansion
began on television

from Warner Bros.'

veteran showrunner Greg Berlanti

with a superhero soap opera, Arrow.

Greg Berlanti changed the course
of our company and of DC.

Starting with Arrow, and then Flash

and then Legends of Tomorrow.

And then Supergirl.

Known as the Arrowverse

Berlanti's interconnected world

fed an insatiable appetite.

But Kevin Tsujihara
had ambitious plans

to compete with Marvel

on the big screen.

With the triumphant return

of the most iconic superhero
of all time.

You will give the people of Earth
an ideal to strive towards.

In time, you will help them
accomplish wonders.

Man of Steel marked
Warner Bros.' official launch

of the DC Extended Universe.

You're gonna go to war.

That son of a bitch
brought the war to us.

From the ultimate superhero face-off

to a motley crew of supervillains

DC was reshaping
the comic-book film landscape.

But an up-and-coming filmmaker

was about to breathe new life
into a long dormant hero.

We always wanted to break
that action-comic-book ceiling.

We felt that Wonder Woman
would be the one to do it.

I think I was about eight or nine

when I first saw Wonder Woman.

I was like a moth
to the flame of the image

the symbolism, the delight.

And ever since that time

I never lost my desire
to tell a universal story

that brings beauty into people's life
and inspires them.

And so after I made Monster
and had some success

I went to Warner Bros., I said,
"I want to direct Wonder Woman."

With a lifelong passion
for the character

Patty Jenkins' unique vision

for DC's first female superhero
won over Warner Bros.

But the studio would be taking

an Amazon-sized risk on a filmmaker

with no experience
helming a big budget action film.

There's a history
of female superhero movies

being thought not to work.

And so I definitely felt
the pressure every day.

On the other hand, I was given
the great gift of Gal Gadot.

When Patty and I met,
it was love at first sight.

From the first moment

we've both wanted to tell

the same story.

We didn't want to think
about Wonder Woman

as tough and hard and cold.

We wanted her to be a true woman.

Like the way women are.

- We need to help these people.
- We have to stay on mission.

- So what? So we do nothing?
- No.

We can't save everyone in this war.

This is not what we came here to do.

Often, superhero movies
are all about the bad guy.

Wonder Woman
was not at all about the bad guy.

It was about Wonder Woman's journey

to becoming a hero
and her birth into the world.

- Fire!
- Fire!

That's why superhero comic books
were written in the first place.

They were about,
"What would you do with great power

and how can you be a hero
in the world?"

I rose up.

I was standing

in the seats of the theater with Gal

and my daughter said,
"Mom, I never really understood

why people were so enthralled
with you and Wonder Woman

till I saw Gal."

It's not just a cartoon character.

It is much more than that.

Wonder Woman's impact
went far beyond the big screen

becoming a symbol
of female empowerment.

Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman

opened up a new space

especially for young women and girls

to have a sense
of themselves as powerful.

Wonder Woman broke down the walls
of what a superhero could be.

But Warner Bros. would push
the boundaries even further

devoting an entire film
to a notorious villain.

I wasn't so much a comic book guy.

I loved the movies.

I certainly loved
the Chris Nolan films.

But I really wanted to
do a character study

a movie about a singular person.

I always loved
what the Joker character represents

in the comics and the films.

I thought, "Boy, if we can get
a great actor to play that part

we could really do a deep dive
into why this person is this way."

What, you think that's funny?

It was a hard script to say yes to

because it was a dark film.

It was an antihero protagonist.

It took place in the DC world.
There'd been a Joker

but this was gonna be a different
Joker played by a different actor.

But the studio loved
the screenplay, you know.

Everyone who read
the script just said

"Wow, this could be something great."

So we took the shot.

Is it just me

or is it getting crazier out there?

I've been around
a lot of great actors.

But nobody quite like Joaquin.

He really went in deep.

And really felt like
he became Arthur/Joker.

In one particular scene

he had killed these three
Wall Street guys on the subway

and he was supposed to run
into this rundown bathroom

and hide the gun.

And Joaquin brought up a thing going

"Why is Arthur hiding the gun?"

And so I said,
"Yeah, let's not do that.

Let's do something else."

And we just... him and I alone,
sat in this bathroom

for 45 minutes,
thinking what else could we do.

And I said to him, "I got this great
new piece of music from Hildur,"

who's our composer.

And I played the music, and Joaquin
just started moving to it.

And then he kind of improvised
this gorgeous dance.

And it was like, really quickly,
we realized, "Oh, that's the scene.

This is the moment.
This is the metamorphosis.

This is where he first feels
Joker coming out of him."

- What do you get...
- I don't think so.

when you cross a mentally ill loner

with a society that abandons him
and treats him like trash?

- Call the police, Gene.
- I'll tell you what you get.

- Call the police.
- You get what you fucking deserve!

New Joker film
opening nationwide today

is sparking fears
of real-life violence.

That was a scary time.

America's changed

gun violence has changed
so much in the last decade.

And there'd been a shooting
once in a Batman film.

We never thought the film
would incite violence.

But you never know if people...
how people will misinterpret art.

So we took every measure we could

to make sure that
that wasn't gonna happen.

It was a relief
when the film came out.

People understood the film

that violence is a destructive force
and a hurtful force.

A bold departure
from the comic book genre

Joker was hailed as a triumph.

Nominated for 11 Oscars
and winning two

it became the highest grossing
R-rated movie of all time.

Hands up.

You know, New York is considerably
more interesting than I expected.

By the late 2010s,
the path to box office success

was dominated
by supercharged mega franchises.

To find a hit with mass appeal
outside the tentpole world

Warner Bros. embraced
an unexpected filmmaker

determined to make
a new kind of impact.

The fact that Warner Bros.
is a steward of stories

to not just America but the world

that's a huge responsibility.

But for me to be
one little piece of that history

I mean, I can't even believe that...

that I'm here right now.

After a string
of high-profile blockbusters

Director Jon Chu was one
of Hollywood's fastest rising stars.

But after a decade in the industry

Chu had a realization

that would send him down
a more personal path.

I'd been hearing this stuff
from the industry itself

"You can't hire this person
or that couple.

They don't sell internationally
or that."

So I realized all that stuff
was backwards and it was like in me.

And if I wanted to actually put
an all-Asian cast in a movie

I'm one of the only people
who could do that.

And so that's when I found
Crazy Rich Asians.

My mom, my sister, my cousin

they all told me,
"You got to read this book."

Come to Singapore.

I think it's about time people
met my beautiful girlfriend.

At the center of it,
what touched me was this story

about Rachel Chu

who's an Asian-American
going to Asia for the first time.

That's exactly my experience
of going to Hong Kong.

And I really zeroed in
on that for Rachel Chu.

I was like,
"I know how to tell that story."

At first, it was gonna be
an independent production

'cause we didn't think
a studio would back this thing.

And then we got the call
from Warner Bros.

which seemed like a place that was
unthinkable for a movie like this.

But they said,
"This is part of our tradition.

We were started by immigrants."

They have a tradition
of telling stories

of different cultures,
and different perspectives.

And immediately, they were in.

Three, two, one, action!

I was very excited
not to just make a romcom

starring an Asian-American

but to make one

that was about class
and identity struggles.

That was about relationships
with your parents

and with generational differences.

I'm not leaving 'cause I'm scared.

Or because I think I'm not enough.

Because...

maybe for the first time
in my life...

I know I am.

That's the end of the movie.

It's not about getting the guy.

It's about her standing up
for her own self-worth.

And we were thinking of putting in

Coldplay's "Yellow."

Warner Bros. was very worried about

"Well, what does that say?
How are people gonna interpret that?"

And I said to them, I was like

"I wanna re-own that word.
And this song can do that for us."

And they trusted me.

So at first, Coldplay
wasn't gonna allow us to use it.

So I wrote this letter.

"Dear Chris, Guy, Jonny, and Will

I know it's a bit strange

but my whole life,
I've had a complicated relationship

with the color yellow

from being called the word
in a derogatory way

throughout grade school

to watching movies where they
called cowardly people yellow.

It's always had
a negative connotation in my life.

That is, until I heard your song.

For the first time in my life

it described the color

in the most beautiful,
magical ways I'd ever heard.

The color of the stars.

Her skin.

Love.

It will give the generation
of Asian Americans and others

the same sense of pride I got
when I heard your song.

I want all of them to have an anthem

that makes them feel as beautiful

as your words and melody
made me feel when I needed it most."

And then a couple hours later,
they replied

and we got the rights to it, so.

I wrote it over there
in the edit room, on the couch.

When I first watched
Crazy Rich Asians

in a movie theater

I was really emotional.

When I started in the '80s

there was just so few opportunities
for Asian actors.

I would go watch movies all the time

and I would always fantasize or dream

that the lead of the movie
would be...

would have an Asian face
that looked like me.

So when I first saw Crazy Rich Asians

in the movie theater

it meant everything to me.

That movie is the reason
why I decided to get back into acting

after a 22-year break.

I'm having this whole second act
is because of this movie.

And I'm so grateful to Warner Bros.

that made this movie
and also to everybody involved.

Jon Chu's vision for an all-Asian
romcom soared past expectations

becoming one of the biggest movies
of the year.

But behind the scenes

a new mega merger
had landed at the studio.

After a two-year battle
with the Department of Justice

telecom behemoth AT&T
took control of Time Warner

branding the new joint company,
WarnerMedia.

The studio underwent
numerous restructuring efforts

Eventually leading to Ann Sarnoff

becoming the first female CEO
of Warner Bros.

How do you tell stories
and make programming

whether it's feature films

or television or games

that are relevant

to this next generation?

I think that's a big challenge
for all of us in the business.

To capture the attention
of a new generation

the studio gambled
on a cutting-edge vision

to reintroduce one of the most
iconic figures in music history.

Elvis was unlike any movie journey

I've ever been on.

Like, I can't tell you
how many people said to me

"Yeah, but how are you
gonna find an Elvis?"

Not only is he an unbelievable
vocal character

but also he's one of the most
handsome and attractive people

that ever walked
the face of the earth.

And then there's the way he moved.

So the finding of Austin Butler
and the casting process...

I now look at it and go

"Actually,
I think I didn't find Austin.

I think Austin found it."

Well, that's all right, Mama

That's all right for you

That's all right, Mama

He was born to play that role.

We knew that in Austin,
a new star was born.

With the perfect Elvis cast

and Tom Hanks set to play
the infamous Colonel Tom Parker

production began
in Australia in March 2020.

We're shooting on the film

and we're doing a scene
where Colonel Tom Parker

is guiding Elvis
through the showroom.

And I'm about to say, "Look,
let's bring Tom now into the scene."

And with Tom we explores idea.

And as I do, my first assistant says

"Hey, Tom has to leave the set.
I think he's got that flu thing."

And the rest of the world knows
what happens next, right?

I was actually on an airplane.

And I got a text.

"Confidential, Tom Hanks
tested positive for COVID.'

The Medical Officials have protocol

that must be followed.

We Hanks' will be tested

observed and isolated

for as long as public health

and safety requires."

"Okay, we gotta shut down.
What are we doing?

Is Tom okay? What's going on?"

If this evolves

into a pandemic

there's no way we

in the United States

are gonna escape

having more infections

in this country.

And then the next thing, hazmat suits

and shutting down sets
and the film's over.

The pandemic shut down
all film productions

and movie theaters across the country

putting the future of the entire
film industry in jeopardy.

There was a real concern that
the big movie theater chains

wouldn't be able to survive COVID.

Is this gonna just make people

not wanna go
to movie theaters anymore?

It was scary.

And this is where Warners comes in.

I said, "Look, I am making
this movie for movie theaters."

"You need to see Elvis,
the movie and Elvis the man.

And Elvis, the performer,
on a big screen."

Austin Butler
and Baz never left Australia.

They stayed there,
they rode out COVID

and they made this movie

under these newly devised
COVID protocols.

I mean, to me, that's a miracle.

Mr. Presley.

Are you ready to fly?

I'm ready. Ready to fly.

It got people into theaters.

It's one of the most successful
original films

to be released since COVID.

My singular focus in making a movie

is to bring all kinds of people

to come and sit in a dark room
with strangers

for everyone to be united

from what's going up
on that flickering screen.

And for a few brief moments,
not to feel alone.

You know, we all laugh together.
We all cry together.

We're all moved together.
We're all touched together.

We are not alone.

There's a lot of ways

that we consume content
on small screens, on TV screens.

But when you go to a motion picture

everything stops.

When I was about 17 years old

on a Saturday afternoon

my dad took me to a motion picture

and the lights went out

and there was this giant screen.

And Bonnie and Clyde came on.

And it was like magic.

That was for me, the beginning
of this journey for my life.

A kid that grew up in Brooklyn

and was inspired

by so many of the movies
that Warner Bros. made.

And here I am.

Which, for me is...

It's the stuff that dreams
are made of.

It's hard to believe.

AT&T set to combine

WarnerMedia with Discovery

creating a media powerhouse.

AT&T's WarnerMedia and Discovery

agree to merge.

Discovery's boss David Zaslav

will run this new combined company.

Well, hello,
Warner Bros. Discovery!

Were there other names
thrown out?

How did you come
to Warner Bros. Discovery?

I just said we have
to use Warner Bros.

because I don't want
a corporate name.

Warner Bros. stands
for these four guys.

The Warner Bros. Discovery merger

capped off two decades
of acquisitions

rebranding and corporate instability.

The marriage resulted
in a powerhouse portfolio.

Together, we have a chance to be

the greatest entertainment company

in the world...

because we have the most content

the most platforms

and we're more global
than any other media company.

When you think about
the tremendous amount

of intellectual property
that exists at this company

the opportunities are just so rich.

But it is imperative
for us to be making shows

that really reflect
the world around us.

It's about who's telling the stories

who's behind the scenes.

People understand that

talent can come from anywhere.

This is just the wave now.

And I do think Warner Bros.

has done a good job of that.

They're opening their arms
to that a little bit more.

We think it's really important

to find filmmakers and voices

that tell authentic stories

positive stories about
what it looks like to be them

or what their culture feels like.

Those filmmakers
are worth their weight in gold.

Those storytellers that understand

that you're part of a tribe

you feel like you're part
of a collective humanity.

Don't you sometimes wonder
if it's worth all this?

I mean what you're fighting for.

You might as well question
why we breathe.

If we stop breathing, we'll die.

Each of us has a destiny,
for good or for evil.

When you tell a great story,
you can change minds.

The Warner Bros. understood that.

Steve Ross understood that.

And so when you think
about Warner Bros. today

it's about building on the incredible
success over the last 100 years.

What began as a family affair

has grown into a global empire
of entertainment.

Since its inception,
the studio has developed talent

into risk takers

trailblazers, and visionaries.

In return, those fearless voices
have reflected

and shaped our culture.

I think what's made Warner Bros.
last 100 years

is that inclination

to swing for the fences
and trust filmmakers.

It's a dangerous story
for this paper.

Fuck it,
let's stand by the boys.

Throughout the decades,
storytellers have embraced

the pioneering spirit
of the founders.

That same courage
will inspire the next century.

We do this
'cause we're supposed to.

It's a calling.

You answered.

What it means to tell stories

in a world that is craving
direction and hope

has more value now than ever before.

One of the great things
about being here on the lot

is not just the legacy.

It's not what happened here,
who's been here.

It's who is here.

We all came together
for the same reason.

To fight to tell
a great story.

And to make a difference.

We love this business.

And we have more stories to tell.